KRIENS, Switzerland – Ovation Sports announced four new broadcast partners for the Champions Hockey League and Victoria Cup.

IIHF President René Fasel said of the new partners: “We are very happy to have Ceska Televize, the national broadcaster from one of the most important hockey countries in the world, the Czech Republic, partner with us. One of the IIHF’s main objectives is to make our game popular, especially in developing hockey countries. The contract with France’s Sport+, Kazakhstan’s Sport-1 and Sport-2, and the Ukraine’s Megasport provides coverage in such countries and regions.”

Ceska Televize, the Czech Republic’s public-service broadcaster, acquired the rights for three years to broadcast exclusively throughout the nation. The network broadcasts 24 hours-a-day on its channels CT1, CT2, CT24 and CT 4 SPORTS.

Sport+, a multi-sports channel which is part of the CANAL+ GROUP, signed a two-year deal, with the option for renewal, to broadcast exclusively throughout France as well as in Andorra, Luxembourg, Monaco and the Dom Toms (French Overseas Territories). The network will also broadcast throughout Africa on a non-exclusive basis.  With more than 60 broadcast sports, SPORT+ has the richest programming in France.  The Champions Hockey League is the network’s newest hockey property joining the NHL and World Championship.

In Kazakhstan, the new Sport-1 and Sport-2, the nations’ first-ever sports channels, run by Quantum-Arnau, have also signed a three-year deal.

In the Ukraine, Megasport, the nation’s first and only specialized free-to-air sports channel, will be the CHL broadcast partner for two years. They will also broadcast the Victoria Cup in 2008 and 2009.

All four television networks will broadcast the Champions Hockey League and Victoria Cup across their media platforms.  In addition to coverage of the full CHL season and the Victoria Cup, they will also show weekly highlights and a monthly magazine programme.